I haven't known quite how to do this for awhile, but here goes. My name is Nick Senzee. I live in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC, where I've lived for four years. I like it here. I am originally from Kansas City, Missouri.
I earned my Bachelor's and Master's degrees in French and Francophone literatures from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. Although Utah is in the mountains, I never learned to ski while I was there. I think it was a combination of limited cash flow as well as fear of skiing with my black-diamond friends. Provo was great, but after awhile my wife and I decided it was time for adventure. Since we got our degrees in French, we decided to do something very French and move to the capital to make our fortunes (like so many Balzac heros and heroines before us).
I studied French because, well, I speak it pretty good. After my degree was over with, I figured out I wasn't very good at doing postmodern readings of texts I didn't care about. Also I had to hide the fact that it was all kind of stupid. (No offense, former profs, I love you all). So I decided to get a job, which DC was willing to help me out with. Thus begins my affair with association management.
I started working for the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy as their "Division Affairs Manager," which other people would call "Chapter Relations." I learned a lot in the position, and the best part was working with all these wonderful therapists. I would come home from a conference and feel really good about myself. When it was time to move on from AAMFT, I went to the Alpha-1 Association, a patient-advocacy organization for individuals with a rare disease.
After a brief stint as membership director for the Color Marketing Group (a professional association for designers who, among other things, forecast color trends), I came to work at a larger healthcare professional association in Alexandria, Virginia. I am active in the American Society for Association Executives (ASAE). I have written a piece for their trade magazine and for the chapter relations newsletter, played a small part in their environmental scanning conversations and educational development. And I enjoy making connections with other professionals in Association Management. It's generally good fun.
For me, association management is a good fit for a career because I get the opportunity to do lots of different things each day. It's people-intensive, so it doesn't get boring very often. And I've had the opportunity to learn more about the workings of the federal and state governments, as well as to do lots of work with Canadians (always fun, since I speak French with a PQ brogue) and other cultures as well through my fairly short career.
For fun, I like to putter. This means keeping in touch with friends, gardening and working around the house, etc. I like to read, mostly nonfiction. I also like to work out and go running when I'm motivated. (Don't ask me to explain that.) I also sometimes enjoy writing and I have several book and article ideas that I work on whenever I'm feeling manic.
I earned my Bachelor's and Master's degrees in French and Francophone literatures from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. Although Utah is in the mountains, I never learned to ski while I was there. I think it was a combination of limited cash flow as well as fear of skiing with my black-diamond friends. Provo was great, but after awhile my wife and I decided it was time for adventure. Since we got our degrees in French, we decided to do something very French and move to the capital to make our fortunes (like so many Balzac heros and heroines before us).
I studied French because, well, I speak it pretty good. After my degree was over with, I figured out I wasn't very good at doing postmodern readings of texts I didn't care about. Also I had to hide the fact that it was all kind of stupid. (No offense, former profs, I love you all). So I decided to get a job, which DC was willing to help me out with. Thus begins my affair with association management.
I started working for the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy as their "Division Affairs Manager," which other people would call "Chapter Relations." I learned a lot in the position, and the best part was working with all these wonderful therapists. I would come home from a conference and feel really good about myself. When it was time to move on from AAMFT, I went to the Alpha-1 Association, a patient-advocacy organization for individuals with a rare disease.
After a brief stint as membership director for the Color Marketing Group (a professional association for designers who, among other things, forecast color trends), I came to work at a larger healthcare professional association in Alexandria, Virginia. I am active in the American Society for Association Executives (ASAE). I have written a piece for their trade magazine and for the chapter relations newsletter, played a small part in their environmental scanning conversations and educational development. And I enjoy making connections with other professionals in Association Management. It's generally good fun.
For me, association management is a good fit for a career because I get the opportunity to do lots of different things each day. It's people-intensive, so it doesn't get boring very often. And I've had the opportunity to learn more about the workings of the federal and state governments, as well as to do lots of work with Canadians (always fun, since I speak French with a PQ brogue) and other cultures as well through my fairly short career.
For fun, I like to putter. This means keeping in touch with friends, gardening and working around the house, etc. I like to read, mostly nonfiction. I also like to work out and go running when I'm motivated. (Don't ask me to explain that.) I also sometimes enjoy writing and I have several book and article ideas that I work on whenever I'm feeling manic.